BOOKS

She's Back...

The little girl who found her past-life family

By Tara Katir, Kapaa

While most of us never remember previous lives, many young children spontaneously recall recent incarnations. Occasionally a past life remembrance may be so compelling it cannot be ignored, as in Sture Lonnerstrand's I Have Lived Before: The True Story of the Reincarnation of Shanti Devi (159 pages, Ozark Mountain Press, us$14.00).

"You are not my real Mama," little Shanti Devi says one day. For nine years Shanti Devi talks of a previous life, eventually convincing her father, who writes to the man Shanti Devi keeps calling her husband. A stranger comes to the house and to everyone's amazement she identifies him as her husband's cousin. Visiting her former home, husband and son, the little girl accurately identifies places and people from her previous sojourn on Earth.

Lonnerstrand's provocative interviews with Shanti Devi are at the heart of this narrative. Between births, Devi recalls, "I was free and I had shrunk. I was so tiny, almost like a minute particle of dust. Everything was within me. The whole universe was inside me. Light beings disappeared and new ones appeared. We were linked together with connecting radiating beams. We were as one. We are all connected with each other. If we only realized how closely we are connected, we would never be able to hurt each other. It's only after death that we can truly realize the connection which we were unable to grasp or which we neglected throughout our lives."

Through Shanti Devi's well documented memories, the author concludes, "reincarnation has shown itself to be real and proven for one individual. It must also then be true for everyone else."

Psychic Moms

Everyone's heard of mom's intuition, and most have experienced it in one form or another. It's considered rather unscientific, and women are discouraged from trusting their inner voice. But Cassandra Eason's uplifting little book, The Mother Link: Stories of Psychic Bonds between Mother and Child (178 pages, Seastone Press, us$12.95), may restore your faith that God provided mothers with some powerful protective methods.

She recounts numerous examples of telepathic communication. For example, one mother recounted, "I was in the kitchen washing dishes, and Alex was running around in our den. I kept getting a fidgety, odd feeling that wouldn't go away. I dropped everything and ran to find him. There he was about to put a fistful of sewing needles into his mouth. It was just lucky I got the message that Alex was in danger." The connection begins before birth, as shown in this mother's experience: "One night I woke up feeling really afraid. There was lighting on the inside of the room and intense noise. I couldn't figure it out, because I actually like storms. Suddenly I realized I wasn't the one who was afraid. It was the unborn baby."

Eason feels "we were all psychic as children, but in some of us the awareness was obliterated by the disapproval of adults. Motherhood is the time that dormant intuitive potential is reactivated." Memories of experiences forgotten may emerge from the past as you sneak a glimpse into the intimate world of mothers and their children.

Johari's Monkey Business Book

Through the gentle art of storytelling, Sanatana Dharma's profound heritage has been passed down from generation to generation. With this marvelous book by Harish Johari, The Monkey and the Mango Tree (144 pages, Inner Traditions Publishers, us$12.95) India's rich storytelling tradition comes alive for a new generation. Johari has created 25 beautifully crafted tales pregnant with mystical wisdom and wit, guaranteed to delight young and old.

Conveying sophisticated concepts in simple language, Johari's stories pass on ethical teachings meaningful for any culture, any time. One provocative tale dispensing a valuable message is entitled "The Lesson." In this story a teacher asserts anger's woeful burden... "it burns the life force,... it destroys the balance of the body chemistry and makes you forgetful.... Avoid anger if you want to become a wise person."

Pieter Weltevrede's outstanding pen-and-ink illustrations add visual vitality to each of Johari's delightful stories. These wonderful tales continue Johari's tradition of literary excellence and should not be missed. Young adults will find this book engaging while imparting principles for a life of graciousness. For parents and teachers, these timeless stories are tools you can use.